Last Letter to HI

Hello Sister Missionaries,

Well this will be Sister A. Nielsen's last email as a missionary.  I know you are working hard and sprinting to the finish line.  You will be blessed forever for your efforts and your service.  The Lord always compensates us more for our service than we could ever pay him back.  We will always be indebted to him.  

We were glad to get Hermana Nielsen's letter last week and we know you will get the language down.  Just keep praying and he will bless you.  You will wake up one day and be able to understand everything and be able to say everything you want to say.  It is always  miracle to me how that works.  Another piece of advice that I was telling Brendon Smiths parents is to carry a little note pad with you and when ever you hear a word that you don't know what it means, write it down in the book, with its English meaning and as you have a few moments when you are waiting, (I use to do it when we were riding the bus), pull out that book and go over all you new vocabulary words.  It will help your vocab. greatly.  Do you have a spanish english dictionary to look up words?  That should have been on your list to purchase and take with you.  Also, Erin, what do you want us to do with your drivers license.  We got your new one, but we don't know how to get it to you.  Will you be driving a car down there?

Things are going well here.  Last Sunday we had a stake fast as well as a church fast for rain and snow as it has been very dry here this winter, and the farmers and ranchers are really worried about the drought.  Well these past few days, it has been raining none stop and our basement has been flooding.  Cody and I are joking about stop the prayers and fasting or we will need an ark for the basement.  Heavenly Father always answers the prayers and fasting of the saints.

We have also been having all kinds of car problems.  A week ago Sat, I had to replace the van's battery and the next day, the camry would not start, it had a dead battery.  I finally got my truck back from the shop and had it parked out in front of the house.  I was going to go to home depot on sat. and it would not start. (I assume dead battery).  So Sat, when mom is coming home from Codys bball game, the van starts making this noise and the power steering went out and you can hardly turn the car.  It is worse than manual steering.  It also has a maintenance problem showing up and it beeps constantly.  So mom and I are down to drying the 1972 bug and the 1989 trooper.  It is pretty bad when your oldest vehicles are the only vehicles that work.  

Sat. morning Cody, Brian Hirst and I went out to shoot our bows at the archery range.  And it was a muddy mess.  We had mud up half way up our calves.  But it was fun to go out there and shot. It has been a long time since we did that.

Cody's bball team played there last regular season home games this past weekend.  They won big both nights.  Their record is now 21 and 2.  14 and 0 in league.  Cody had 2 3-pointers on Friday for 6 points and 0 points on Sat.  They play Spring creek this Tuesday at Spring Creek and then they play Lowry on Sat at Lowry.  So they will be both good games.  The Elko girls team also is 71-3 overall and 13-1 in league.  So we will see how they do this week on the road against SC and Lowry.

Yesterday was our ward conference and it was good.  President Lewis said if we want a temple in Elko, then we need to live like we deserve a temple.  He wants everyone in the stake when they go to the temple to take their own names.  He does not want any of us to use the temple names and he his looking at the youth to do alot of this work.  We had the missionaries over for dinner yesterday and Cody and I went and visited 2 of our home teaching families.

Well Sister A Nielsen, we hope you have a fabulous last week.  Keep working hard and you can rest at home.  Hermana E Nielsen keep studying and praying and things will come.  Are you able to communicate with your companion yet?

On Wed. I got a called from the spanish sisters on temple square that I met when we took Whitney there, and they were teaching a guy named Al from california a discussion on the phone and wanted me to be the member present.  So I agreed and it was suppose to happen at 5:30 pm on Thurs.  But they called me on Thurs. and they could not get a hold of Al.  They said they would reschedule it.  The missionary said they were going to challenge him to get baptized and if I felt so prompted that I could do that.  I will look forward to that this week.  The church is amazing how they are so tech savvy and are up to date and so modernized.

In our bishopric meeting yesterday, the stake presidency was there with us and I was telling them how when I got home, I did not know how to get released as a missionary and so for 2 weeks I would get up and dad would make me wear a suit and tie with my name badge and then when I was going to go to BYU I called the mission president of the Independence Missouri mission and asked him how I get released and he said, "your released".  That was it???  I had been waiting for 2 weeks for that??  President Lewis made a joke and said he did not think I have ever been released.  So that was a good compliment.  That is what you can do Sister A Nielsen.  We are trying to line up a dinner next sunday with Skyler Cousineau and her boy friend raymond basanez and Skyler's younger brother  who the missionaries are teaching to come over for dinner with the sister missionaries.  So we are going to put you to work Sister A Nielsen.  We thought your fire and missionary spirit would be great for them to witness and feel.

We love you both so much and pray for your success constantly.  Have a super week.

Love DAD

Aloha and Hola my
Dearest Sister Missionaries,

Well, this is a momentous occasion.  I know Sister Nielsen is probably not as excited to see us as we are to see her.  We hope you will be able to adjust to life after mission without too much sorrow.  I think it's unavoidable though.  I haven't mentioned anything about the impending reunion in previous letters, because I knew you wouldn't want to think about that, but since this is the last letter, I'm just going to say... I am stinkin' excited!  Your little sisters are too.  

Ok... last week:  We had RS activity night, which I am in charge of now.  We did an activity that we did last year that was really fun and successful.  It was "My favorite Things", only because it was Feb.  we tweaked it and called it, "The Things I Love".   Everyone just brings something that they love and enjoy a lot and shares it with everyone.  It's fun to get to know people through the things they share.  I brought the CD "Thanksgiving"  the one I always play during the fall season.  I really do love that music.  I also took an example of an idea that I love.  I took all the pictures and Christmas photocards we got for Christmas and I mounted them on a cheap placemat in a collage and then had it laminated.  We will use them at Christmas and be able to look back and see from year to year how our friends and family has changed.

Thursday, we had a Book Club movie party.  We read the book about the Chinese ballet dancer, and there was a movie made about him too, so we got together at one person's house and watched it that afternoon.  I don't generally sit and watch movies, esp. during the middle of the day, so to alleviate some guilt, I showed up with my ironing board, iron and 8 or so shirts to iron while I watched the movie.  The other ladies thought that was funny and said not to tell their husbands.  I got them all done and it kept me awake as well.  It was a great movie with incredible dancing.

We went to Cody's bball games on Fri and Sat.  He had two 3's on Fri. against Sparks and no points on Sat.  They didn't need him to score, Nathan had 27 in that game.  He is playing really well, but Dad and I agree that teams will be keying on him,  and other guys are going to have to make shots.  We play SC tues. in SC. Should be fun,  for us, not them.  The girls will be looking to avenge their  earlier loss.  Dad says unless Camille plays their reserve guards Siana Carsrud and Ashton Heathman they will lose.  Those two girls are playing with a lot intensity and match up better against SC's guards.  We shall see.

Summer wants to play softball this spring so I signed her up.  She and Carly went out with Whitney and she worked with them a little bit last Aug. and since then she has been sporting  side ponytails and expressing an interest in playing softball.

It has been raining all weekend and we had water flowing into the basement from a window well where Amber had her room.  I was sucking up water and trying to divert water.  Cody texted Vivian Neff and told her to "quit praying for rain, we're flooding over here!"  She responded that she was not going to stop praying, but she would send him a life preserver.

We had the Elders over for dinner yesterday.  Their dinner appt. canceled on them 2 days before and so they asked it we could feed them. Elder Miller has been  here 9 mos! He goes home next week, and I think he knew this was his last chance to dine at the Nielsens.  We had stroganoff for dinner and Cody made a peanut butter pie for dessert.

Iris Smith died last sunday at the age of 103.  I went to her viewing.  Her body didn't look like her at all.  She looked really dead.  Grandma Nielsen looked so much  more natural.  She knew what she was doing when she arranged for the best mortician around to make her look good.

I saw Elizabeth Eardley there and she shared that she got engaged last week to Micah G.  (don't know the last name), but you two know him.  They are getting married in July.

We know you are both working hard, and that Sis. N. is sprinting to the finish line.  I have been praying that everything you want to see happen will happen before you are done.  I have loved  your letters so much and it saddens me a bit that your beautiful spirit won't be brightening up my inbox, but we have Hermana to carry on that.  You are an inspiration to me and I am so happy you made the decision to serve a mission.  It has blessed us all.  I am soo proud of you and your dedication to your call.  I love you,  Mom

PS Looking so forward to my very happiest Valentines Day ever!